Health

How to fit exercise into your day

Health

How to fit exercise into your day

Fitting exercise into your day is possible. Trust me! I learned from
Julia James, a certified life coach out in Vancouver, B.C. Her best tip? Ditch your preconceived notion of exercise and do a little self exploration to find a type of fitness that works for you. Read on for more great ways to prioritize and make fitness fit! [caption id="attachment_2055" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day?"]
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1. Though exercise is incredibly important, many women find their lives too hectic to fit it in. How would you advise them to make room for physical activity? We often have preconceived notion of what exercise should be. Many women think they have to take a class or work out at the gym for an hour three times a week, and when they can't fit that into their schedule they feel like a failure. I recommend you let go of this ideal for a moment and check in with yourself: What kind of movement brings you joy? Once you reconnect with the joy of movement, you will naturally want to do a little more each week.
2. How can regular physical activity contribute to a balanced life? Our bodies naturally want to move. We are simply not designed for the sedentary lifestyle most of us lead. Moving our bodies in the ways we enjoy most helps us relax and recharge. When we are relaxed and energized we feel more balanced and happier.
3. How do you recommend busy women determine what's important to them? Make sure you put yourself and your well-being at the top of your priority list. Ask yourself: What brings me joy? What makes me feel energized? What helps me relax? And then do at least one of these activities every day. Putting yourself at the top of your list means letting go of other things that are less important. Take a careful look at your priorities and let go of the things that don't really matter or can easily be done by someone else.
4. What are some ways women can abandon the guilt they feel when spending time doing something that's important to them (and, say, leaving dinner to the kids and husband; leaving work on time; hiring a babysitter for the evening)? When you take care of yourself you are doing everyone a huge favour. Your family, boss and colleagues all benefit from you being at your best. If it is hard for you to set boundaries and say no, remember that you are not only doing it for yourself, but for them.
5. Have you found that women find a sense of relief when they start considering themselves a priority? Women who consider themselves a priority have accomplished a tremendous shift. They not only feel a sense of relief but also a sense of joy. They have shifted away from feeling resentful and frustrated and are now feeling more energized and happy. Magically their husbands, kids and colleagues also feel happier. Women who have created this shift in their lives realize how much their mood influences other people's well-being. They know taking care of themselves means taking care of everyone. Thanks, Julia!
How do you fit fitness into your life?

Culture & Entertainment

Nelly Furtado helps us be a little greener

Culture & Entertainment

Nelly Furtado helps us be a little greener

The singer-songwriter and philanthropist comes clean on her ten-year job as a housekeeper, why she finds cleaning therapeutic, when she taught her daughter to do laundry and why she has teamed up with Tide purclean to launch its new eco-friendly detergent.

Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado grew up in the family business—the cleaning business. “I come from a housekeeping background. My mom ran a laundry and cleaning company, and from a young age, I would go along with her to help out on odd jobs,” says Furtado. For the Grammy-award winner, lending a hand with the housekeeping turned into her first decade-long job. “I was a professional housekeeper at a hotel for 10 years in Vancouver,” says Furtado.

So, when Tide approached Furtado to help launch purclean—their first bio-based detergent (65% of the ingredients are made using renewable energy sources, such as plants)—the decision was an easy one. This more eco-friendly option is also hypoallergenic, free of dyes, chlorine and phosphates, and is produced in an environmentally-friendly manufacturing site.

Along with using a more sustainable detergent, Furtado limits the amount of loads she does per week and uses energy-saving cold water. “Every little bit counts: I drive a hybrid car so I only have to fill up on gas once a month. I make my own cleaning products with vinegar and water. When I’m spring cleaning or moving, I donate everything from faucets and cabinets to furniture to Habitat for Humanity so they can reuse them instead of putting them in a landfill,” says Furtado.

Furtado taught her daughter, Nevis, who is now 13-years-old, how to do laundry when she was 10-years-old. “At the time, she was saving up to buy an iPad, so Furtado gave her a list of chores to do, including laundry, to save enough money for the big purchase. “I felt I was teaching her a really valuable skill that she’ll use into adulthood, but she already mastered it at a young age. She’s really good at folding, too,” says Furtado.

Along with raising a teenage daughter and managing a successful music career (she has sold 16 million albums), she is committed to her environmental and humanitarian philanthropic work. This year, she helped host We Day, an event that empowers kids to contribute to positive changes in their communities, as well as acknowledging many who do. She also remains very close to the organization, Free The Children—she has helped raise $1 million dollars for a new all-girls school in Narok in rural Kenya. This Christmas, Nelly will visit the girls at the school.

In March 2018, Furtado will release her seventh album, The Ride. Most of the songs were written outside the studio while doing other things, such as laundry or in a car ride in Kenya during one of her Free The Children missions.

These days, when she’s not travelling, Furtado continues to clean her own house as she finds it puts her in a meditative mood, giving her the opportunity to focus on her music. “It’s part of who I am,” says Furtado.